Baseball Makes Changes to Speed Up Game (but Only a Little)
By VICTOR MATHER MARCH 2, 2017 The New York Times
Major League Baseball and the players’ union on Thursday announced a package of changes to the rules to speed up the game...
(Baseball does not seem to have been influenced by the publication this week of New York Times staff and reader suggestions for improvement. Not even the idea of starting every inning with Bartolo Colon on second base.) ...
Baseball must get union approval for rule changes, and the players’ union signed off on these. But Commissioner Rob Manfred wanted more, he said...
“We couldn’t even make an agreement on limiting the number of times somebody goes to the mound,” he said.
Among the changes that will not be made, though they very likely would have made a real impact on the pace of the game, were limits on players’ calling timeouts, a pitch clock and limits on pitching changes.
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Commissioner should order umpires to not call time out. And ban the manager and coaches from the field. Friday, February 24, 2017
Somehow the players association has gotten the power to control administration of games. The commissioner has the power to enforce the rules and to establish procedures for the umpires.
It's pretty basic. During a game only an umpire can call time out. It's NOT like football and basketball ...
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http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2016/official_baseball_rules.pdf
As of 8:00 AM, March 3, 2017, that link to the official rules does not include any changes for 2017 season.
I made a good faith effort to read all uses of the word time in the rules. I found no reference, suggestion or implication that anyone other than an umpire has the right or power to call time. Players, coaches and managers may request time but may not call time themselves. See excepts below.
(b) (5.02) After the umpire calls “Play” the ball is alive and in play and remains alive and in play until for legal cause, or at the umpire’s call of “Time” suspending play, the ball becomes dead.
Rule 5.04(b)(2) Comment (Rule 6.02(b) Comment): The batter leaves the batter’s box at the risk of having a strike delivered and called, unless he requests the umpire to call “Time.” The batter is not at liberty to step in and out of the batter’s box at will...
Umpires may grant a hitter’s request for “Time” once he is in the batter’s box, but the umpire should eliminate hitters walking out of the batter’s box without reason...
Rule 5.05(b) to 5.06(b) ...
... the umpire shall call “Time” ...
Rule 5.09(b) ...
The umpire shall immediately call “Time” ...
Rule 5.09(c) to 5.10(b) ...
Time is not out when an appeal is being made.
5.12 Calling “Time” and Dead Balls
(a) (3.12) When an umpire suspends play, he shall call “Time.” At the umpire-in-chief’s call of “Play,” the suspension is lifted and play resumes. Between the call of “Time” and the call of “Play” the ball is dead.
(b) (5.10) The ball becomes dead when an umpire calls “Time.”
Rule 5.12(b) ...
(4) When a manager requests “Time” for a substitution, or for a conference with one of his players...
(8) Except in the cases stated in paragraphs (2) and (3)(A) of this rule, no umpire shall call “Time” while a play is in progress ...
Rule 6.01(c) Comment (Rule 6.08(c) Comment): ...
... the umpire shall call “Time” and the pitcher and batter start over from “scratch.”
(4) (6.02(d)) The Batter’s Box Rule ... (iv) A member of either team requests and is granted “Time”; ...
6.04 (4.06) Unsportsmanlike Conduct ...
(a) No manager, player, substitute, coach, trainer or batboy shall at any time, whether from the bench, the coach’s box or on the playing field, or elsewhere: ...
(3) Call “Time,” or employ any other word or phrase or commit any act while the ball is alive and in play for the obvious purpose of trying to make the pitcher commit a balk.
(a) No manager, player, substitute, coach, trainer or batboy shall at any time, whether from the bench, the coach’s box or on the playing field, or elsewhere: ...
(3) Call “Time,” or employ any other word or phrase or commit any act while the ball is alive and in play for the obvious purpose of trying to make the pitcher commit a balk.
(h) (7.06) Obstruction ...
Rule 6.01(h )(1) Comment (Rule 7.06(a ) Comment ): When a play is being made on an obstructed runner, the umpire shall signal obstruction in the same manner that he calls “Time,” ...
Rule 6.01(h )(1) Comment (Rule 7.06(a ) Comment ): When a play is being made on an obstructed runner, the umpire shall signal obstruction in the same manner that he calls “Time,” ...
(2) If no play is being made on the obstructed runner, the play shall proceed until no further action is possible. The umpire shall then call “Time” ...
8.03 Umpire Position ...
(b) A field umpire may take any position on the playing field he thinks best suited to make impending decisions on the bases. His duties shall be to: ...
(2) Take concurrent jurisdiction with the umpire-in-chief in calling “Time,” ...
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1 comment:
Seems clear that the umps are in charge of game progress, including calling "time" when required or asked. But umps are not going to pick a fight with the players for no reason. If fewer time outs would be better, then the league management/commissioner has to order the umps to make it so. The commissioner isn't going to pick a fight with the players or the networks 'cause that where the money is. Only the fans can force this and other changes to speed up the game. When fans stop going to games or fans start to boycott the sponsors then some changes will take place. The pocketbook rules all.
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